The ILTM (International Luxury Travel Mart) launched its 23rd edition in Cannes at the beginning of December, against a turbulent political and economic backdrop marked by the return of war, a few years after a worldwide pandemic.
Such an environment obviously influences customers’ purchasing decisions, at a time when travel has never been so popular.
An analysis of 800 high-net-worth international travellers, carried out by ILTM, ATLANT and HYATT, was presented by Alison Gilmore, Portfolio Director at ILTM and TJ Abrams, VP Global Wellness at HYATT. She sheds light on the reasons for travel’s success and the major trends for 2025.
Experiences, YOLO and slow travel
- From product to experience – Luxury customers are moving from buying luxury to experiencing luxury. The hyper-inflation of prices for a product that has not necessarily evolved in quality, is prompting a mainly young clientele to choose to experience luxury instead. In a world in crisis, travel responds to new desires: freedom in the face of war, adventure in the face of crisis and tension, and encounters far from increasingly invasive digitalization.
- YOLO (You Only Live Once) – the result of an urgent need to enjoy life and experience emotions that are as immediate as they are memorable – feeds a need to reward oneself. The urgent need to live experiences today, without further delay, is leading to a proliferation of short breaks decided on a whim. Getaways close to home or just a few hours away by plane have become increasingly popular, particularly in China and the USA.
- Slow and quiet travel – Paradoxically, this new form of travel is developing at an exponential rate: numerous rail companies are being revived or created, such as ACCOR in association with LVMH in the revival of the Orient Express, BELMOND offering stays aboard legendary trains or on numerous river cruises, or PONANT offering slow luxury with its new, largely carbon-free yachts… the list goes on.
This appeal to experience, immediacy, calm and tranquillity are the visible parts of an even deeper need of this high-income clientele: to treat themselves to health and mental well-being without delay.
Well-being at the heart of customer concerns
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